Features

Autumn is the perfect time for renewing your home, because it’s so easy to do it in a natural way. Take a walk in your yard and gather the materials to get started. Leaves, berries, and late-season flowers are perfect for adding natural detail.

Go on a ride in the country and come home with pumpkins, gourds and Indian corn from a market, a roadside stand or a pumpkin patch. Have fun decorating indoors and out with the bright colors of the harvest season.

Add seasonal touches to your dining table. Make a coaster of photocopied leaf images by arranging pressed leaves in various shapes and colors on a sheet of paper. Use a glue stick to secure leaves to the paper, then make color copies. With spray adhesive, attach copies to heavy paper, then cut out the leaves. Arrange them under plates or make coasters. Use spray adhesive to secure them to one another.

It’s easy to give your rooms an autumn look by turning to nature. Colors and textures of harvest time — brilliant red and orange for leaves and rich brown for bark — bring a warm comfort indoors. Add early fall flowers like mums, gladiolas, and sunflowers from a market to add to the colorful look.

Other ways to add an autumn look:

—Take up the summer sisal rug and put back the rich Oriental rug.

—Store summer slipcovers until next year.

—Add baskets and wooden bowls to your decor for a touch of texture. Fill them with apples from an orchard or gourds from a farmer’s market.

—Fill a large pottery bowl with an assortment of seasonal vegetables (turnips, rutabagas, yams and a variety of winter squash) for interesting shapes, colors and textures.

—The same idea works for bowls of nuts.

—For an autumn glow at a party or dinner, fit miniature pumpkins with small votive candles. Cut a hole large enough to hold a tea light, scooping out the flesh so the candle edge is even with the opening. This subtle glow also works well on a mantel or coffee table.